"In Israel, there is a movement that stands in direct contradiction to the basic socioeconomic approach. Israel has been able to lead an economic policy, which has been successful compared with the economies of other countries. We've succeeding in achieving growth, we've succeeded in increasing the exports of goods and services, and we've succeeded in narrowing gaps with emerging markets in Europe," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at today's cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu added, "Instead of being praised, there are people here who are trying to instill populist figures and measures that are liable to drive the economy backwards instead of marching it forward. Economic data indicate that the Israeli economy grew in recent years, compared with other economies in Europe, and that the standard of living here has only risen. So why are the whiners now claiming, 'No good'? They're saying that there should be a different distribution of the pie.
"If the government only saw to the current pie, and did not worry about increasing the national pie, the economy would be harmed. If you only deal with distributing the pie, and not increasing the pie, you'll only be left with crumbs. It's impossible to accept the populist claims that we should only carry out a better distribution. In recent years, the economy has grown nicely, and it is the government's duty to act so that the economy will continue to grow.
"It is true that there are still factors that are hindering economic growth processes. For example, concentration is a millstone that should be released, and we'll work in this direction. The government that I head is acting, and will continue to act, so that what happened in other countries won't happen to the Israeli economy, and I don’t want to talk about the economies of Greece, Spain, or France."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 22, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012